Working in retail means dealing with every type of customer, and tourists can be among the trickiest.

When one cell phone store employee was forced to deal with a pair of travelers from the UK, he soon learned that their sense of entitlement had followed them across the ocean.

You’ll want to read on for this one!

Well I want a refund anyway!

I work at a cellular retail location that offers both pre and post-paid accounts. As a result, we get a lot of people on vacation coming in to activate their unlocked phones on a temporary prepaid account.

Usually, it’s a very simple process, but not this time.

Enter The English Snowflake (ES) and his wife, who was actually a very nice lady (NL).

The interaction starts off normal enough.

NL: Hello, my husband and I are here on vacation from the UK and would like to activate a plan for the time we are here.
Me: Great, do you have unlocked phones, or do you need to buy them today?
NL: No, we have two unlocked phones we used last time we were here.
Me: Alright, perfect. How long are you here?
NL: Three weeks.
Me: Perfect. Our prepaid plans are for 30 days at a time. How much usage do you need?

Insert plan information and decision-making.

The retail worker lets this customer know the store’s policy for the plans, and the couple continues with the transaction.

Me: Okay, so two SIM cards, two $10 time cards, and a $15 prepaid account setup fee. This is all non-refundable, as the time cards and SIM cards are one-use only. Normally, I have to charge a fee per account, but since you’re here together, I can waive one for you. Your total today is $72.80. Once that’s paid, we can set up the accounts.

NL pays with no concerns, and I set up the first account for NL, insert the SIM card, and hand her the phone to set up.

But here’s where things start getting messy.

NL: Oh, it’s asking for a network unlock PIN.
Me: Oh no, that means that these phones are not unlocked. They are likely locked to the carrier you bought them from.
NL: Oh shoot, what do I need to do then?
Me: Just get them unlocked at “Other Store” down the street, then you’re ready to go.

Here’s where it really starts heating up.

ES: Well, if they’re not going to work, we’d like a full refund.
Me: Unfortunately, a refund is not possible, as these cards have been activated and so they cannot be re-sold. That’s why I asked right at the beginning if these phones were unlocked.
ES: Well, where we are from, you can receive a full refund on anything in good faith.
Me: I’m sorry, but like I said before, none of these items are refundable. They are final sale.

The man still tries to argue with this.

ES: Well, I paid with my Mastercard, so I can just claim that this sale was made without my approval and they will just cancel the payment. So there must be something you can do.
Me: I’m sorry, sir, but my system will not allow me to refund these items. They are final sale. If I click refund, the screen will come up blank. I don’t know what else to tell you.
ES: It’s not a matter of systems, it’s a matter of good faith. Where we are from, you can refund anything in good faith.
Me: I’m sure you can, but here where I’m from, you can’t refund everything.

Luckily, the manager chimes in at this point.

Manager: Sir, the product you purchased is not refundable. Danceswithhishands has given you options in order to get the phones working. Those will work. If you choose not to take that route, your account will just sit unused. You cannot refund the cards, as they have been used.
NL: Darling, this is not their fault. They asked if they were unlocked, and I said yes. I’ve learned my lesson; let’s just get these phones unlocked.
Me: If you get them unlocked, it is permanent, so if you do more traveling, they will work in every country you go to.
NL: See? It’s an investment. Let’s just do that.

But the man isn’t convinced.

ES: No. Do not activate my account. I don’t want one from you people.
Me: Alright, that’s your decision to make. I’ll just add your $10 of time to NL’s account so it doesn’t go to waste.
ES: Well, everything we did here is a waste anyway.
NL: ES! You apologize. It’s not this young man’s fault!
ES: No. I will be disputing these charges from home. Good day. storms out
NL: I’m sorry for him, thank you for your help. Have a nice day.
Me: You too, enjoy your time here!

This retail worker was left exhausted by this frustrating interaction.

Unfortunately, this happens all too much around here.

Apparently, people from other countries don’t realize that when they go to a different continent, things might not work exactly like they do at home.

Idiots.

“Good faith” doesn’t exactly override a well-established store policy.

What did Reddit think about all of this?

This commenter from the UK points out that this customer wasn’t being entirely truthful about his claims.

It seems like some customers just go out of their ways to be difficult.

This whole situation could have been avoided had these travelers planned a bit more carefully.

When you work with difficult customers all day, you tend to feel for other retail workers who will eventually have to deal with the same customer.

Mistakes are bound to happen with international travel, but hopefully this couple learns their lesson from it.

You can’t refund arrogance, no matter what country you’re in.

If you liked that post, check out this story about a customer who insists that their credit card works, and finds out that isn’t the case.